This invention relates to video systems, and more particularly, to interactive television application systems that provide for the coordination of system functionality among user television equipment devices.
Traditionally, televisions have been used to provide television programming and advertisements. More recently, interactive television applications have been developed that allow people to use their televisions for other purposes. One application, for example, is an interactive program guide. Interactive program guides allow the user to navigate through television program listings using a remote control. In a typical program guide display, television listings are organized into subsets of listings according to multiple organization criteria and are sorted in various ways. Interactive television applications have also been developed to provide Internet browsing, home shopping, and a broad range of other applications.
Interactive television applications are available which run on analog and digital cable television set-top boxes. Interactive television applications are also available on analog consumer electronics devices, such as televisions. With the advent of digital terrestrial broadcast television, it is anticipated that interactive television applications will be available for digital televisions, digital receivers attached to analog televisions, and analog televisions receivers with suitable processing circuitry.
A large number of households receive their broadcast television signals from cable operators. These consumers may rent or buy a digital cable set-top receiver that provides an interactive television application such as an interactive program guide, Internet access, home shopping, etc. These consumers may also purchase a digital television, such as a high definition television, or a digital television receiver which will convert digital transmissions into analog for a conventional television. The digital television and digital receiver may be capable of providing an interactive television application. Alternatively, consumers may purchase an analog television with suitable processing circuitry making it capable of providing an interactive television application.
In such homes, the television signal will pass through multiple devices with sufficient processing power to provide an interactive television application. With multiple similar applications operating at the same time, there will be conflicting attempts to write information to the television screen, potentially duplicate data streams, conflicting control streams for local devices such as videocassette recorders, and other conflicts.
If one of the applications is disabled, the interactive television application system will suffer from additional inefficiencies. For example, if only one application is running and it is in the television, it will not have access to cable-specific resources, such as an out-of-band data feed. Consequently, the features and functionality of the system might be severely limited. If only one application is running and it is in the set-top box, it will not have access to the television""s resources. For example, the set-top box might not have access to resources permitting the application to control the television at its highest resolution.
It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide interactive television applications that run cooperatively among different user television equipment devices in an interactive television application system.
This and other objects of the invention are accomplished in accordance with the principles of the present invention by providing an interactive television system that provides for running applications cooperatively among different user television equipment devices in the system.
Application information (e.g., program listings data, Internet links and web pages, shopping data, etc.) may be provided by a data source in a main facility (e.g., a satellite uplink facility). The application information is transmitted to multiple television distribution facilities (e.g., cable system headends, satellite distribution facilities, or broadcast facilities), via a suitable link (e.g., a satellite link). The television distribution facilities distribute the application information (and television programming signals) to user television equipment on which a cooperative interactive television application is implemented. Application information may be provided on a television channel sideband, in the vertical blanking interval of a television channel, using an in-band digital channel, using an out-of-band digital signal, or by any other suitable data transmission technique.
The user television equipment for receiving and processing the application information may include a number of user television equipment devices. For example, the user television equipment may include a set-top box and a television capable of providing various functionability in addition to displaying television programming (e.g., a digital television, an analog television equipped with a suitable digital receiver, or an analog television with suitable processing circuitry). The user television equipment may, for example, be capable of providing an interactive television program guide application, Internet browser, home shopping application, or any other desired application. The set-top box and television are programmed with the cooperative application. The cooperative application implemented on the set-top box and television coordinates system functionality between the devices according to the capabilities of each device.
Further features of the invention, its nature and various advantages will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.